1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium driving apparatus. More particularly, the present invention relates to a recording medium driving apparatus provided with a vibration-proof mechanism elastically supporting a driving section which records information on a recording medium and/or reproduces the information recorded on the recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a recording medium driving apparatus such as an MD (mini-disk) player, upon insertion of a recording medium such as an MD from an insertion port formed on a front panel surface, the MD is temporarily housed in a holder provided opposite a back surface of the insertion port. The MD in the holder is transferred to a driving section arranged in the interior of the apparatus by a transfer means separately provided, for recording and/or reproduction of information.
When the aforementioned recording medium driving apparatus is mounted in an automobile, a reproduction error or a recording error such as a sound skip tends to be easily caused by vibrations of the automobile. It is therefore the conventional practice to prevent occurrence of such an error by providing a vibration-proof mechanism in an enclosure. The vibration-proof mechanism comprises a driving section and transfer means elastically supported in the enclosure by an elastic supporting member such as a damper or a coil spring, and absorbs vibration transmitted from the automobile body.
Upon insertion of the recording medium and transfer thereof to the driving section, however, the transfer means and the driving section are locked to the enclosure to accommodate insertion and transfer operations. Upon completion of transfer of the recording medium, locking is released into a state in which the driving section is elastically supported by an elastic supporting member (non-locked state) to accommodate recording of information on the recording medium and/or reproduction thereof.
In the above-mentioned conventional recording medium driving apparatus, however, when a driving source imparting a transfer force to the transfer means is elastically supported in the enclosure together with the transfer means and the driving section, the weight of the entire unit elastically supported becomes larger, and the inertia resulting from external vibration or impact becomes excessively large. It is therefore necessary to set a large vibration-proof space between the unit and the enclosure, which prevents downsizing of the entire apparatus.
When the weight of the unit to be elastically supported is to be reduced by providing a driving source imparting a transfer force to the transfer means on the fixing section on the enclosure side, a problem is posed in that the transfer means and a power transmitting mechanism for transmitting power of the driving source to the transfer means interfere with each other (collision), and as result, the unit to be elastically supported is constrained, thus making it impossible to obtain a sufficient vibration-proof effect.